Well. Here we are on Day 16 of being back from NYC. It’s crazy how quickly things change. Three days after we got back, the state shut down all restaurants for dine in and turned them into delivery/take out only establishments. A few days after that, the county issued a “stay at home” order and all non-essential businesses shut down. Movie theaters, gyms, most retail shops, etc are now closed. Thank goodness the liquor store is considered essential! Today at 5:00 pm, the whole state goes into “stay at home” mode until the end of April. I am guessing that working from home for the past nine years has prepped me somewhat for what the next few months hold. Homebodies for the win!

It appears that David and I made it back from New York City without any germs. We have been monitoring ourselves every day and so far no fever/cough/shortness of breath. Part of me is paranoid that we are asymptomatic even though we have made it past the 14-day self-quarantine window. Silly, I know. So far there are not any reported cases in our county … but I suspect that will change. It just seems to be EVERYWHERE.

What sucks is the timing. Spring has arrived (finally!) and things are beautiful outside. Too bad everyone feels the same way and the walking paths and hiking trails have been jammed with people since there is nothing else to do. They have closed some of the local state parks and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has also totally shut down due to the influx of visitors. I am fully expecting that the Blue Ridge Parkway will follow suit in the next few weeks. So, I guess walking around the back yard is going to have to do.

Here are some back yard blooms …

Bowser has certainly been enjoying the fact that we are around the house all the time. He also appears to be unconcerned with the miseries of the world. Oh, to be a dog …

Saturday night, we tired out the new way to socially gather in these times of social distancing. It was super nice to actually see some friends … even if it was via a computer screen. I am guessing this will become a regular thing for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile … I received a copy of Dave Stewart‘s book, Monster Man. Thanks a bunch for sending it my way, Dave! [Kissy!]

And, finally … before we went to New York City, I picked up a copy of Horrified™: Universal Monsters™. How could I resist a game where you battle Universal’s classic movie monsters? It looks like it’s gonna be a fun game to play. Now for this pandemic to end so we can invite people over for a game night!